In July 2000, the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) proposed the Lunawa Environment Improvement and Community Development Project to the Government of Japan (GOJ) for financing. The proposed Project area is located in the south of the Colombo District and covers the drainage area of the Lunawa Lake (6.15 km2), which extends from the Dehiwala Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council (DMMC) area in the north to the Moratuwa Municipal Council (MMC) area in the south.

The loan agreement (SL-P73) between the GOSL and JBIC was signed in December 2001 for the Implementation of the Lunawa Environment Improvement and Community Development Project for the period of eight years since 2002. The Project is Implemented by Ministry of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development with Financial assistance from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The objectives of the project are to alleviate flood damage in Lunawa area, through the improvement of the storm water drainage systems, to create a hygienic environment for people’s healthy life through improvement of the storm water drainage system and to upgrade the community’s living conditions, through provision of improved infrastructure at resettlement sites and also at selected on-site upgrading sites, and creation of environmentally sustainable way of lives in the communities. The habitual flooding area and the number of inhabitants affected are 1.04 km2 and 19,700 respectively.

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Division (RWSSD) of the Ministry of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development (MUDSAD) is the National Agency responsible for rural water supply and sanitation sector development in Sri Lanka. The RWSSD has undertaken the implementation of two large scale Community Water Supply & Sanitation Projects (CWSSP) in thirteen (13) districts of Sri Lanka at present with financial assistance from World Bank, Japanese Bank for International Corporation (JBIC), the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and participating beneficiary communities. Projects are designed to achieve the set objectives by integrating safe drinking water, basic sanitation, hygiene education, environmental programs and diversifying community activities to socio economic and cultural fields. This integrated approach has been tested and proven to be highly successful during the implementation of Community Water Supply & Sanitation Project – I (CWSSP - I). This pilot project has been rated as the "BEST PRACTICE" and "WELL MANAGED PROJECT" by the World Bank among 200 similar projects around the world. Based on this innovative approach tested through CWSSP – I, a National Policy for the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector has been formulated and is now being implemented in the entire country.

Objectives

The overall objective of the CWSSP is to “Reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of rural and estate communities through the provision of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation facilities, hygiene practices, environment conservation and by promoting economic, social, religious and cultural activities”.more about CWSSP>>

Colombo has been expanding its area of direct influence intensively during the past three decades with the Metropolitan Area of Colombo intensifying in the trade and Commerce and increasing in population. These trends have rapidly multiplied road traffic in the area resulting in the accelerated spread of traffic congestion in the area. Concurrently with such intense urban without parallel improvements in service infrastructure there has been increasing deterioration of the living environment, one way of mitigation of which being the de-concentration of urban functions in well organized and suitably equipped urban centers with good living environments.

New town or satellite town development has been extensively applied in the practice of City Planning to respond to needs and issues of urban sprawl. In the case of Colombo’s urban sprawl, such new towns can be effective in restructuring the Metropolitan Area from mono-centric to multi-core. With the increasing urban population being accommodated in such new or satellite towns and other improvements in the Cities Suburbs, the Core City of Colombo will be enabled to achieve higher intensity of selective types of development in keeping its potential and importance as the regional hub. With such a clear strategy, there is opportunity for new towns identified selectively to be developed as centers of good living and pleasant working environments.

Outer Circular Highway (OCH) is a new access controlled circular highway linking Colombo-Katunayake Expressway and Southern Transport Development Project. It is 10-15 km away from the city centre and approximately 29 km long. It is expected to serve as a bypass and disburse the traffic from and to Colombo more effectively resulting in easing traffic congestion in the Colombo Metropolitan Region. The Township Development Component of the OCH involves preparing and implementing a programme for the development of townships adjacent to the interchanges of the OCH in order to ensure the financial viability of the OCH by generation of traffic to the highway.

The earmarked trace of the OCH cuts across a few major highways radiating from the city centre of Colombo. Six interchanges are proposed at the intersections of these highways as part of the OCH project, and all of them are within close proximities to rapidly growing urban areas. Thus, all of the urban areas in the surroundings of the OCH intersections will inevitably have a sizeable impact in terms of increased motor traffic flows - in and out from the OCH in terms of increased land values, changes in land uses, and in revitalizing urban forms. They will impact on the townships of the interchanges providing new opportunities for growth and development.

Therefore the Ministry of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development has identified three prominent townships - namely Kadawatha, Kaduwela and Kottawa, all located in the area of interchanges of the OCH as priority towns to be re-organized to New and Vibrant Townships through appropriate planning and the provision of infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water, sewerage and drainage.

Combining township development with the development of a major highway is a pioneering approach in Sri Lanka. State organizations whose resources are already stressed are inadequately equipped to carry-out the tasks of such township development. This limitation is particularly irritant in that the tasks entails looking beyond the zoning plans to provide infrastructure services on the basis of Urban Design aimed at making available in the property market, well serviced buildable land. Therefore it is necessary to secure the involvement of private sector organizations to carryout the tasks by involving them as consultants. Mindful that all necessary expertise may not be available locally, and that the involved consultants will also include foreign experts, it is envisaged that through the implementation of the Township Development, new practices, techniques and technology hitherto un-available or not practiced locally will be applied into the processes of implementation by selected consultants to refresh and improve local practices.

Vital and highlighted aspects of the Project are,

Priority of addressing investment opportunities to the private sector as the engine of growth

Application of new technology utilizing satellite imagery applications in place of traditional methods.

This programme supports the Government’s ambitious ten year Urban Development Framework (UDF) stipulated in the “Mahinda Chinthanaya”: Vision for a New Sri Lanka, A Ten Year Horizon Development Framework 2006 – 2016, and the proposed establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Commission on Good Local Governance supported by tailored support units in the Ministries of Urban Development and Provincial Councils and Local Government. Through the institutionalisation of participatory urban governance processes it will stamp a nation-wide impact on urban governance for poverty reduction, create a vibrant urban sector to support national sustainable development and demonstrate the significance of the MDGs to national urban development. The program will ensure the support for the institutionalisation of the MDGs and good urban governance at the national and provincial levels. Nationally, the programme will support the capture and promotion of good practices through a national knowledge network and direct capacity-development support to the proposed ministerial structures as a core institutionalisation strategy including the coordination of training. At the Provincial level it will help strengthen the role of Provinces in supporting local government and effectively articulating its needs and the prerequisites for the localisation of MDGs in national planning and implementation, and by providing capacity-development for on-going and systematic provincial support for local government. It is expected with this assistance, the Government should be able to introduce the good governance components that have been already pilot tested.

According to that the Ministry of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development with the full co-orperation of the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Council is implementing inter ministerial cabinet decision and commence the Project of “ Support to Implementation of the Sri Lankan Urbanization Framework” . It is implementing in Greater Dambulla Development Area and this programme is funded by UNDP & UN-Habitat.